Did listing ‘Mills’ among the box score inactives tell us something?

And if we are to believe the official NBA scoresheet for the Spurs’ 116-100 victory over Minnesota, the Australian point guard might already be on the team.

When Tony Parker went down with tightness in his left hamstring early in the second quarter, the worst fears of the Spurs’ braintrust intensified.

Parker headed immediately to the locker room for treatment and didn’t reappear in the game or even the Spurs bench during the rest of the game.

The Spurs’ leading scorer was back out for Bruce Bowen’s jersey retirement ceremonies later in the evening and didn’t appear to be walking with a noticeable limp.

“I think they said ‘mild hamstring.’ We won’t know much until tomorrow,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said after the game.

But it was still a scary situation — particularly with a demanding stretch of four games in five nights approaching.

That’s where the scoresheet comes in and an interesting listing among the inactives buried deeply on the box score.

Two names were listed: Bonner and Mills. Matt Bonner was out for the night with back spasms.

Considering they don’t have a Mills on their roster, could it be an indication of an upcoming roster move?

Or one that was already made?

Gary Neal and Manu Ginobili took their turns at the point in the second half after Parker’s injury and both had productive efforts.

After a miserable shooting start, Neal went 6 for 10 from the field in the second half with two steals and a team-high 14 points. And Ginobili was the team’s top passer from the backcourt with five of his team-high eight assists coming after Parker was injured.

That rotation can work against a Minnesota team struggling with its own point guard rotation after Ricky Rubio went down with a season-ending knee injury. Luke Ridnour and Jose Barea aren’t exactly prototypically imposing players that will keep many rivals coaches up at night.

But it will be a different story with upcoming games with top guards like Jason Kidd, Jarrett Jack, Jrue Holiday and Steve Nash approaching in the next week.

That rough upcoming schedule might put the onus on Popovich and R.C. Buford do some serious bargaining over the next few days.

There would be security of an extra player at the position immediately — and not even thinking what the acquisition would provide heading into final weeks of the season and into the playoffs.

The point guard question remains, even if Parker’s current injury isn’t that serious.

Maybe that where the mystery “Mills” at the bottom of the scoresheet can help them out.

A few other thoughts that came from the Spurs’ first triumph over Minnesota included these:

Long after practice ended over the last several days, rookie Kawhi Leonard was one of the last players to leave as he battled Ginobili for the most shots per day at the facility. The Spurs’ shot doctors were working on Leonard getting his corner jumper up more quickly. That attention was beneficial Wednesday after Leonard went 6 for 10 from the field and scored 16 points after his offensive struggles in Dallas Saturday night.

Is it 2005 all over? Tim Duncan continues to play like he’s turned the calendar back several years with another standout game of 21 points and 15 rebounds in only 24:19 of playing time against the Timberwolves. It was his first 20-15 game since last Jan. 21. You can tell he’s in better shape this season as he’s been more aggressive at the rim and made more dunks than in any season in recent memory. His strong recent play is one of the best indicators the Spurs have shown heading into the final third of the season.

Kevin Love wasn’t right physically Wednesday night as he was playing with a sore back and inserted at a position he doesn’t really care to play when he injured Minnesota starting center Nikola Pekovic. Love didn’t look like the league’s second-best rebounder and repeatedly had trouble defending Duncan inside. The Spurs captain exerted his will early with five rebounds in less than five minutes to start the game and scored eight straight San Antonio points during a two-minute stretch midway through the first quarter. It was indicative that Love’s defense isn’t nearly as advanced as his scoring and rebounding.

With injuries to Parker and Bonner, it will be interesting to see how Popovich approaches the weekend schedule with three games in three nights. I would expect even with the limited numbers that none of the Spurs’ Big Three will play in all of the games. Ginobili has hinted to the Argentinian media he will be under a strict minute limit and won’t be playing in the back-to-backs. The same probably is in the works for Duncan. Which means that we’ll likely see a lot of Tiago Splitter and even some of Eric Dawson at the end of his 10-day contract inside and the continued rotation of the Spurs’ wings.